I notice that this post is tagged "cinnamon." I am not familiar with this desktop environment. I suggest that having the open/close/maximize buttons on the left is part of the cinnamon way of doing things.
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grahammechanicalJan 30 '12 at 13:40

Thanks, using dconf-editor, I was able to add a 'stick' button so I could toggle sticky windows (always on visible workspace). Currently not implemented in Cinnamon Settings.
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d_railSep 10 '13 at 21:03